Captain Jebediah circles over KSC to see how he has to line up to bring the launchpad into the wing camera’s field of view in order to capture a rocket as it lifts off for future launches
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Kerbal Space Agency
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Jeb wanted to take the Civvie up to get an aerial view of the launch. Lanalye said no, but she will consider it for launch #2 planning
Kerbal Space Agency
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Val reminded Lanalye of Jeb's request to take up a Civvie for aerial photos of the launch - she said should have reminded her sooner. Drat!
Kerbal Space Agency
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Flight Director Lanalye has said she's willing to revisit the idea of aerial launch footage from a Civvie for the next Mk5 mission
Kerbal Space Agency
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tomorrow Cpt Jeb will take a Civvie up to rehearse a launch pad flyby @ L-0 so Flight Director Lanalye can work it into the countdown sched
Kerbal Space Agency
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assuming all goes well, Jeb will perform the flyby during Friday's launch - current plan is to be west of the pad @ 1km using the wing cam
Kerbal Space Agency
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4th sunrise has brought with it an interesting surprise: a large cluster of tents has appeared just north of the Monolith dome, est 50 kerbs
Kerbal Space Agency
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security has been deployed to check it out, they must have made the move onto KSC property over the last night cycle but from where? No idea
Kerbal Space Agency
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no surprise, campers are all religious pilgrims, arriving overland on foot from Umbarg after gathering there from other cities via airship
Kerbal Space Agency
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this is not really our problem to handle as Monolith is under gov't control now & we have no means to forcibly remove that many kerbs anyway
Kerbal Space Agency
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pilgrims say they are content to sit outside their tents & pray w/o approaching the dome. We'll have to just wait & see how gov't reacts
Kerbal Space Agency
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with both Tracking Stn & Launch Ctrl now rdy for launch, Jeb will take up a Civvie next sunrise to see about working in some aerial coverage
Kerbal Space Agency
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Jeb is suiting up to stand by, Umbarg reports storms over them & we are experiencing cloud decks just above 1km with high winds from the NNE
Kerbal Space Agency
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security team getting organized to ensure runway stays clear of any pilgrims that for whatever reason decide to wander that way if Jeb flies
Kerbal Space Agency
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winds are still up, so far 2 tents have broken loose & went tumbling across the north field being chased by kerbs. Swear we aren't laughing
Kerbal Space Agency
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launch prep will begin @ 13:36 UTC. Jeb's flight is scrubbed but we will give it one more shot after 4th sunrise if storm stays to the west
Kerbal Space Agency
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flight is looking like a no-go as storm has moved on from Umbarg but is only a few km west of us & moving slowly. Jeb prepping just in case
Kerbal Space Agency
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we're calling it. No Civvie coverage of this launch, but Lanalye is open to giving preparation for it another go at the start of next week
Kerbal Space Agency
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post-launch ops complete & we are all wrapped up for this week of operations. Get all the details here: bit.ly/OpsSummary10-9…
Kerbal Space Agency
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trucks from Umbarg came today to transport the pilgrims back, they left without resistance, seemed satisfied even with their short stay
Kerbal Space Agency
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word is they will not be formally charged with any offense - Presider is said to be considering loosening restrictions on Monolith visits
Kerbal Space Agency
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front moving in, doesn't look like Jeb will get off the ground unless it manages to pass & give us at least 45min before sunset. Standing by
Kerbal Space Agency
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we're still fogged in, scrubbing the Civvie flight until next day cycle. We don't need perfectly clear skies, Jeb will only be flying at 1km
Kerbal Space Agency
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good news, weather front moving offshore & we didn't even get any rain, will leave runways in good shape & looks like fair weather following
Kerbal Space Agency
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Jeb is suited back up & heading out to the HAB from Flight Control after briefing w/ the team there. Val has the Civvie checked out & rdy
Kerbal Space Agency
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winds calm, Jeb requested taxi clearance to Rwy09 just because he hardly ever gets to use it. Flight granted request & he's on his way
Kerbal Space Agency
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Jeb is airborne & has already come about north to head west - no turning south & crossing east of KSC when a rocket is pointing that way!
Kerbal Space Agency
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1km ASL, Jeb is heading south & about to come around north for a pass directly over KSC to see what the wing camera picks up. Prob too close
Kerbal Space Agency
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with a direct pass over KSC @ 1km wing cam was unable to see the pad, so Jeb is coming around again, this time to pass over west end of rwy
Kerbal Space Agency
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swinging back around north for another pass, Jeb is setting flaps full, throttled down, aiming for 50-55m/s for longest time on target (ToT)
Kerbal Space Agency
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that's another miss this pass, Jeb will have to come abeam KSC further west. he's coming about to see if a good terrain landmark can be used
Kerbal Space Agency
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jeb is using the eastern end of a prominent ridgeline at the western edge of the cape's floodplain south of KSC to line up for his next pass
Kerbal Space Agency
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success! On 3rd pass Jeb was 2.5km west from the pad traveling 51-53m/s & had a Time on Target of ~40s, a nice margin of error. Banking west, he can look upwards
Kerbal Space Agency
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Flight has now given him a target launch time of 19:46 UTC, Jeb will swing around & make another pass trying to get the pad in view by then
Kerbal Space Agency
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Jeb is on approach again looking right on time, taking it slow so he has room to speed up if he feels he's coming in too late. L-1min
Kerbal Space Agency
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Jeb sped up & barely made it on time, this photo captured @ 19:46:00 UTC. Ideally he would already be looking at the pad for a good 10-15s
Kerbal Space Agency
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Flight Director Lanalye & Jeb agree they have enough to work on, can fly again later this wk if needed. Landing clearance granted for Rwy09
Kerbal Space Agency
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Jeb is taxiing over to the HAB after a nice no-bounce landing. Lanalye will be working this into the launch schedule over the next few days
Kerbal Space Agency
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catch up on the events of this past week via bit.ly/OpsSummary10-1… - we will update it later with details of the Mk5 launch
